Football Days

Parc des Princes - Paris Saint-Germain FC

Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 AS Saint-Etienne

02/05/12 - Ligue 1

Att: 43,961

With the football season drawing to a close, EuroStar offering cheap train tickets and Paris being easily accessible, it was time for the blog to go French for the first time as we took in the midweek Ligue 1 clash between PSG and Saint-Etienne. With tickets easy to book online, I was very excited for the match between two good sides at a stadium that, like most French grounds, is iconic to me as the first World Cup I watched was hosted in France in 1998. It's not quite Saint Denis, but Parc des Princes is a superb stadium in it's own right.

It was an early start as we caught the 5am train out of Farnborough towards London, where we caught the 7am train from St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord, arriving at 10am local time after a 2 hour journey. It was grey and miserable upon our arrival, much like being back in England and we set about looking for a bar as we couldn't check in until 2pm. I heard before we left that Paris would be expensive, but we were both taken aback by how expensive it actually was. After a few minutes of searching we settled on a pub and paid the cheapest price around, €5, for a pint of lager. We went on a small bar crawl, then got on the Metro and headed to our hotel and caught up on a few hours sleep ahead of the game.

With our tickets saying that the game kicks off at 19:00, we got to Parc des Princes at half 5, giving us some time to have a look a round and take in the pre-match atmosphere. It was an easy enough journey on the Metro, but upon arriving at the stadium we were surprised at how quiet it was, baring in mind it was only an hour and a half before kick off and the turnstiles weren't open either. We tried to have a look around the stadium, but for some reason one end of the stadium was closed off and the police wouldn't let anyone walk that way. Having not eaten much all day, we found some food and then had a look in the club shop before the game. It was at quarter to 7, with the crowds still not really growing and the turnstiles not opened that it dawned on us that kick off might not actually be at 7pm. After a text to someone back home it turned out that kick off had been changed to 9pm, presumably for TV.

With the few bars near the stadium packed, we opted to buy some cans from the shop and drink them while sheltering from the torrential rain. Eventually we decided to go to the ground and see about getting in, which was easy enough, even though every supporter entering the ground was subjected to a thorough search by the stewards. From the outside it's an impressive structure, with the distinctive concrete panels adding plenty of character to a venue that was first built in 1897, but it was rebuilt in 1972, two years after the formation of Paris Saint-Germain.

PSG is quite a new team, formed as recently as 1970 following the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain. Within 4 years of being formed they reached the French top flight and in 1982 they won the French Cup for the first time and retained the trophy the following season. In the 1985/86 PSG were crowned champions of France, finishing 3 points clear of Nantes. It had been a meteoric rise for the club and after being bought by television giants Canal+ in May 1991 the club went on to have more success, winning the league again in 1994, the French Cup in 93, 95 and 98, the League Cup in 95 and 98, as well as becoming only the second French side in history to win honours on the European stage when they defeated Rapid Vienna to capture the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1996. PSG have failed to live up to this success since, with the team struggling in the 00's, coming close to relegation in 2006/07 and in 2007/08. Despite troubles in the league, they lifted the French Cup in 2004, 2006 and most recently in 2010. Having been bought by the Qatar Investment Authority in 2011 PSG became one of the richest clubs in the current game and after spending a French record €108m (£86m) in the summer, they have been in the thick of the title race all season as they look to become champions for a 3rd time.

Once inside the ground it was an impressive sight, with our seats in the upper tier along the side we had a superb view of the pitch. After the death of a PSG supporter lead to a government crack down on violence and, in particular, PSG's two main ultras groups, I'd heard there was a decline in the atmosphere at the stadium. This looked like it would be the case, with no banners visible behind either goal, but as the stadium filled, there was a good buzz around the place and the noise from behind both goals was superb throughout the game. It only made me wonder what the atmosphere was like before the crackdown. Like a lot of stadiums in England, the PA man did his best to whip up an atmosphere, with plenty of crowd participation, even when reading out the teams. As the teams entered the pitch the noise turned up another notch, with plenty of confetti released into the air behind both goals. The home ends were filled and there was around 1,000 travelling ASSE fans in the lower tier of the far corner.

With leaders Montpellier dropping two points at home to Evian the night before, this was a big chance for PSG to close the gap at the top of the table with only four games remaining. Saint-Etienne have also had a good season though, sitting in 6th place in the table and were sure to provide a stiff test for the Parisians. PSG started the better of the two and nearly went ahead in the opening moments. It was a sign of things to come and the first half was one way traffic, but some poor finishing and some solid defending from the visitors meant it took until the 20th minute for the deadlock to be broken. It came in controversial fashion, as Menez was pushed as he shot on goal and a penalty was awarded. Nene stepped up and made no mistake, to give PSG a deserved lead. They had chances to double their advantage, but their good work was almost undone just before the break, when Saint-Etienne went close to going level. Aubameyang's pace took him clear of the PSG defence, but after his effort beat the keeper, it was cleared by a covering PSG defender.

In the second half Saint-Etienne came into the game and were by far the better of the two sides. Despite having a lot of the ball and putting PSG under a lot of pressure, clear cut chances were at a premium and they looked most dangerous from set pieces. Having failed to make their pressure count, they were made to pay with time running out. An incisive PSG breakaway ended up with the ball being cut back to Pastore who smashed the ball home to make the three points safe and put PSG firmly in the title race. There was delight amongst the home fans at full time, as the supporters dream of a first league title for 18 years.

Getting out of the stadium took a while and once back at the Metro station there was the usual chaos of 40,000 people trying to get in one tiny little station. Once the queues died down, we were away and back at our hotel by half past 11. The bar across the street was advertising happy hour, with beer reduced to just €5, however, we decided to pass them up on that offer and took some cans to the hotel room and got our heads down after a long day.

The following day we did the usual bits and bobs, looking around the Eiffel Tower and all the rest before getting the train home. Overall it was an enjoyable couple of days away, the stadium is superb, as is the atmosphere created by the fans. I can imagine it being a very hostile place for any visiting side, with every piece of Saint-Etienne possession booed and whistled by the home fans. On the pitch it was an enjoyable game to watch and Paris is a good place to visit, even if it is on the expensive side. I'm glad I made the trip and I'd recommend it to anyone.